FateZero:HOPE
by Syroc
Summary: An FSN/FZ crossover. In the basement of the Matou manor, the reagent Zouken supplied fails to summon its intended servant. Instead, a familiar face becomes Berserker. Written in snippet form, not necessarily in chronological order.
1. Not What Was Expected

_Transcribed (sorta) from the Mechanics of In Flight forums:_

**Everyone:** Fate/Zero rocks!

**Fangking2:** Someone should make an Omake about it.

**Gwonbush:** I nominate Syroc!

**Bloody Hero: **I concur!

**Syroc:** Bwuh? Did I miss something? *_Whipcrack!*_ Ahh! No whips!

* * *

**Fate/Zero:HOPE**

**Not What Was Expected**

The summoning was a success.

That much was readily apparent when the light died down and there was the red-garbed Heroic Spirit, already kneeling in subservience. In the darkness of the cavern below the Matou residence, the red of the Servant was the only colour that was not somehow stained by the filth of worms and human remains.

In his perfect madness, Berserker stirred to consciousness as the shock of being summoned faded.

-_despairmelancholyREGRET resentmenthatedespair_**_REGRET _**_resentmentpaininjustice_**_FURYRAGEHATE _**_despairdespairDeSPaiR!-_

"Hmm? What a curious spirit you have summoned, Kariya."

_-ZoukenwormsscumANGER confusiontime?dead? IRRELEVANT! Zoukenvampiredisgust destroyermurderermanipulator INJUSTICE! grailwarsacrifice SakuraZoukenmonster INJUSTICE! HatERAgEFuRYHATE **KILLKILLKILL**-_

The dark sanctuary that had sustained the ancient patriarch of the Makiri, now the Matou, family was filled with an unearthly roar of pure fury. In blur of motion the man with the silver hair and the re clothes sprang from his kneeling position into the air just as a pair of swords appeared in his hands. The seemingly frail old man barely managed to throw himself to the side in time to avoid being sliced in two by the enraged Heroic Spirit.

"Deactivate his Madness Enhancement, Kariya!" The withered creature commanded harshly.

For a moment the sickly man didn't react: he had held out some weak hope that perhaps his Servant might just do the world a favour and butcher Zouken like the monster he was. But then he felt the worms inside him _writhe_, filling his being with crawling agony as the disgusting _things _beneath his skin shifted.

"_Kariya__!_" The vampire of the Matou manor insisted, forcing his descnedant to obey.

"Stop!" The man said through a gasp of pain. "I am the Master of Berserker: let the veil of madness be lifted!"

_-**KILLKILL **I have to kill this monster!-_

Berserker did not cease his furious assault in spite of the fact that his madness had been lifted: in fact, it seemed that doing so had only brought an even greater focus to the spirit. More swords of all size and shape faded into existence, summoned by the will and magic of the entity that had been summoned from across the twisted paths of time, and shot toward the cowering old man. It was only a series of quick blocks and deflections with his gnarled and hastily reinforced cane that he was able to save himself from the deadly hail of blades.

Kariya felt the worm's writhing increase as Zouken's worry grew, threatening to devouring him from the inside out unless something was done. And if he died here and now before winning the Grail War, then Sakura would find herself back in that dark pit, suffering in horrible silence as the worms crawled and burrowed and violated...

"I command you to obey me!" Kariya desperately invoked, using one of his three Commands mere minutes after having acquired his Servant. "Cease your attack!"

The effect it had on his Servant was instantaneous, causing him to freeze for a moment just as the magic took hold of him.

_-This is wrong! I have to kill him! I can save Sakura! I can-_

Whatever it was that Berserker had been about to think was cut off as Kariya's Command Spell forced him to obey in spite of how much he wanted to destroy the abomination in front of him. So much pain and suffering could be avoided if only... but he _had_ to obey. There was no other option for now. For now, he would just have to bide his time and wait for an opportunity.

"Very good, Kariya-chan." The whithered creature called Zouken praised, mocking him at the same time with the insultingly familiar suffix. "It looks you might make a decent Master after all. Be sure to keep the madness out of him when I'm around, or you might be leaving this war sooner than you'd like."

The pale, sickly man made no response to the jibe. Instead, he called out to his Servant.

"Berserker, come here."

The red warrior tensed for only a second before obeying. In doing so the many swords that had been spawned by his magic vanished with a high-pitched hum as the od that powered them vanished. Berserker stood beside his Master, and waited obediantly for an order.

"What are you going to do now, Kariya-chan?" Zouken Matou asked, sounding only minutely interested in hearing an answer.

Kariya regarded the elder for a moment with the single eye that remained to him, trying not to let his intense hatred and disgust for him to show. After a year in the pits under his 'tender' ministrations, it was a lot harder than it seemed.

"We'll leave for now, and make plans of attack against the enemies we know of." He eventually answered.

"Oh? So eager to leave are you? And I thought you might be getting used to this place." The old remnant taunted, chuckling quietly to himself.

Again, Kariya ignored the jibe. Reacting to it would case the creature that called itself Matou Zouken to agitate the worms in Kariya's body, which would only deteriorate his health. And he would need every ounce of strength for this war if he was going to save Sakura.

He turned to leave instead, followed closely by the red Servant. Up the narrow staircase, through the hidden passages and catacombs beneath the manor and out the door into the night they went, neither one stopping for a second when little Matou Shinji gaped at them as they passed by. Neither did they speak a word to one another the way out: there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that all conversation would have to take place away from the Matou residence.

But soon enough they _did_ leave that place, and Kariya found himself asking the question that had been gnawing at him ever since he had looked upon Berserker and realized that he had no idea who he had summoned, nor why he would want to kill Zouken even _after_ the madness of his Class had been removed. An ancient hero of the Church, maybe? Or a renowned vampire hunter of some kind? There was just no knowing.

So instead of pondering the question further, he simply asked it.

"Who were you?"

Berserker smiled at that, laughing quietly to himself as if there was something funny about the question.

"You wouldn't know me." He answered wryly. "But you can call me Shirou."


	2. Defining Victory

**Fate/Zero:HOPE**

**Defining Victory**

Kariya grunted in pain as the parasitic creature inside of him shifted, causing his face to writhe unnaturally. Now that Berserker was here and constantly draining his prana, the Crest Worms inside of him had grown more active. It was a small price to pay, however.

But Berserker noticed the sound, and his eyes narrowed in what looked to be consideration. That sharp gaze focused, his twisted grin died, and his arms folded across his chest as some kind of judgement was reached.

"You won't survive this war." Berserker noted with cool detachment.

"Maybe," Kariya said, trying to force the worms inside of him to calm down.

"No." The red warrior refuted coldly, frowning thoughtfully. "In your condition, even if I managed to keep every Servant at bay, you would be defeated by the other Masters. Furthermore, my presence will cause your health to further deteriorate. If this war should become a battle of attrition, we will not win."

"Then what would you have me do?" Kariya snapped, and his agitation caused the worms to twist inside of him with renewed vigour. But he ignored the pain this caused him: there was a much more pressing issue. "I won't just stand by and let Sakura suffer for that monster's desires! I _will not!_"

He only realized that he was shouting when his voice echoed back at him from the walls of his apartment. Berserker's hard gaze softened slightly at his impassioned declaration, and took the chance to continue his seemingly errant musings.

"So then it is not the Holy Grail you desire, then?" He asked, bringing one hand up to stroke his chin contemplatively. "In that case, we would be better served to redefine the terms of victory."

"Terms of victory?" Kariya asked, uncertain. Weren't Servants supposed to only want to attain the Holy Grail? Why would one of them want to throw that away? "What do you mean?"

"For you, the Grail is only a means to an end. I have no real desire for the Grail: I do not need it to grant my wishes." Berserker explained. "It would be more expedient for us to refocus our efforts on a goal that can be attained."

Kariya gaped at the frank admission.

"You don't need the grail for your wishes to be granted?" He asked. "I thought all Heroic Spirits wanted the Grail in order to live again."

Berserker turned away, giving a shrug.

"There are exceptions to every rule." The Spirit said errantly, as if he wasn't throwing every preconception out the window. "And even if I did have such a wish, I would not sully it by having it granted to me by the Grail. I would much rather attain my goal with my own two hands."

Kariya stared hard at his Servant, surprised to his core at the man he had summoned to fight for his goals. It was strange enough that a different Servant had been summoned than the one that had been intended, one wholly unrelated from the Reagent that Zouken had acquired, but a Servant that not only had no interest in the Holy Grail and was advising their Master to consider not involving themselves in the war?

No. Something was about the whole situation. Centuries of history, not to mention one of the founders of the ritual, could not be wrong. Was it possible that Caster was somehow affecting his Servant through magical means? It wasn't outside the realm of possibility: the Berserker Class wasn't exactly famed for its magical resistance. But it had only been a few days since Caster had been summoned. It seemed unlikely that the Servant's first action would be to try and influence one of the participants indirectly.

"I will consider it." Kariya eventually said, his voice stiff and distrusting. "For now, we will continue as planned. We will focus on our first objective: Tohsaka Tokiomi."

Berserker nodded, and turned to face a window overlooking Fuyuki city.

"So long as you bear your own goals in mind, I am content." Berserker said, folding his arms once more. "So long as you stay alive, I am confident in our victory. Whichever victory you choose."

The notion was a tempting one: ignore the war, and focus on destroying Zouken and the rest of the Matou family. With them gone, Sakura would be safe. And he would be able to spend what little time he had left making sure she was as happy as he could make her...

Kariya shook his head violently, forcing the dream out of his mind. He had to focus. He had to win this war. That was the only way to save Sakura.

"I plan to have a skirmish with them tonight, to test their defences." He said forcefully, angry for a reason he couldn't quite explain. "We will see how well they can guard against you."

The red knight nodded, and then turned to face Kariya.

"Hmmph. So eager for battle? Then let's go introduce ourselves to the neighbours, yes?" He said, and his frown made a slow change to a grin. An aura of darkness flowed around him as his Madness Enhancement flared up slightly. "**My swords yearn to make their acquaintance.**"


End file.
